Debate contribution: Standing Order 30

Debate contribution by Ms Kellie Armstrong on 17 September 2024.

MLA

Ms Kellie Armstrong

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

17 September 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Committee Business

Heading

Standing Order 30

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4536919

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Speaker. On behalf of the Committee on Procedures, I am pleased to bring the motion to amend Standing Orders to the House. The Committee is considering a range of issues to improve the effective and efficient operation of plenary sittings and Committee meetings. The proposed change is the first of a number of changes and additions to Standing Orders that we hope to bring forward over the coming months. The motion proposes an addition to Standing Order 30(2) to provide for a final deadline for a private Member's Bill (PMB) to be introduced to the Assembly on the last sitting day in June of the penultimate session of a mandate. While providing for a final deadline for introduction, the Speaker continues to retain considerable discretion to set deadlines for completion of other key stages of private Member's Bills, including the opening and closing of the submission window to gain access to PMB support and deadlines for completion of key stages, such as the final proposal. That proposed change to Standing Orders originated from the work of the previous Committee on Procedures in the previous mandate. In 2020, the Speaker asked that the Committee consider a review of the private Member's Bill system to enable any changes or improvements that were identified to be put in place after the 2022 election. While that work was delayed due to COVID, the Committee completed the review and reported to the Assembly in March 2022.

The review identified a number of refinements and improvements to be made to the process, and the Assembly approved the Committee's seven recommendations, several of which required changes to Standing Orders, on 14 March 2022. The Committee on Procedures is considering those changes as one of its priority areas of work. During the review of private Members' Bills, while acknowledging the unique nature of the previous mandate, the Committee noted that the high volume of PMBs during the busy end-of-mandate period was far from ideal, and that, to give them a more realistic chance of completing their passage through the Assembly, a priority for PMBs should be to avoid the significant pressures on plenary time at the end of a mandate, given that Executive business takes priority when scheduling business. The Committee received considerable evidence to suggest that the existence of a firm deadline for the introduction of a PMB might help the scheduling of plenary time, allow Committees to structure their forward work programme with greater clarity, and provide MLAs with more confidence in relation to the timelines for their PMBs. The Speaker at that time, Alex Maskey MLA, the Business Committee and the Chairpersons' Liaison Group all supported such an approach, with the Speaker stating that, if such a deadline were to be set out in Standing Orders, any milestones set out in the guidance for PMBs would have more force. Having considered the evidence, the Committee recommended that, to prevent congestion in the latter stages of a mandate, meaning that PMBs are stalled in order for Executive legislation to be prioritised, a final deadline for a PMB to be introduced to the Assembly should be set in Standing Orders for the end of June in the penultimate session of the mandate. That is what we are proposing today. Members will be aware that the Speaker, Edwin Poots, published the 'Handbook for Members' Bills for the 2022 to 2027 Mandate'', which sets out the arrangements for the development of a Member's Bill during this mandate, on 7 May 2024. In drawing up the guidance, he reflected on lessons learned from the previous mandate, including the findings and recommendations of the review that was conducted by the previous Committee on Procedures. The handbook also references the planned introduction of a deadline of 30 June 2026 in Standing Orders for private Members' Bills in this mandate and notes:

"In practice the relevant date would be the final sitting day in the calendar month."

The Speaker also indicated that that date:

"is not intended to be seen as a target.",

and that Members should aim to achieve the introduction of their Bills as soon as is practicable. From my personal experience, I echo that advice. It is important that all Bills introduced to the Assembly should stand a realistic chance of completing their passage before the end of a mandate. Likewise, it is important that the Assembly has the opportunity to produce effectively scrutinised and quality legislation. The motion brought by the Committee on Procedures today provides for an amendment to Standing Orders that will support the achievement of those aims, assist PMBs in avoiding the significant pressures on plenary time at the end of a mandate, and implement the recommendations of the previous Procedures Committee, as endorsed by the Assembly in March 2022. In closing, in my capacity as Chairperson of the Committee, I thank the Deputy Chairperson, Sinéad Ennis, and all members of the Committee for their constructive approach and detailed input to this issue and to the work of the Committee more generally. I also thank Assembly Legal Services for its assistance in drafting the changes. I hope that Members will view the proposed change as a constructive and useful addition to Standing Orders to manage the flow of PMBs during the mandate, and I look forward to the debate. As a private Member who has brought through a private Member's Bill, which became the Integrated Education Act, I welcome the clarification. At the end of the previous mandate, it was extremely busy. There was a risk that, after working for six years on the Bill, the time, expense and effort could have been wasted if plenary space was not available. Thank goodness that it was. When you invest so much of yourself, your staff and your resources into legislation that you are committed to delivering, it is right that Members give themselves and the rest of the House time to bring their legislation forward so that due consideration and scrutiny can be completed. Introducing a deadline by which the First Stage has to be completed, as the Speaker said, should not be seen as a target. In my experience, the earlier that you can introduce the Bill, the better that the PMB system will work for you.

1,044 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:07 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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